“Wing warping,” as this approach was called, was satisfactory for very slow airplanes, but faster ones required more rigidity, and by around 1908 or 1909 the idea had arisen of replacing part of the trailing edge of a wing with a hinged, controllable flap. Actually, a prescient Englishman, Matthew Boulton, had patented the idea in 1868, when airplanes were still a thought experiment. His invention had been forgotten, however, by the time real airplanes came into being. Despite the early invention of the aileron, wing warping continued to be used, even on some fighters, as late as 1916.

That a hinged trailing-edge flap would have the same effect as warping the entire wing is obvious to us, because we have seen it in action. But it cannot have been quite so obvious then. The evolution of airplanes in the United States suffered from the Wrights’ unfortunate attempt to establish a monopoly on flight by patenting the very concept of lateral control. Litigation over that ambitious claim held back aeronautical development in America for years while it raced ahead in Europe.

The function of an aileron, or any hinged trailing-edge surface, is commonly explained in ground school by simple analogy to, say, a door opened on a windy day. The wind hits the deflected surface of the aileron and pushes on it. If the aileron is deflected downward, the wind pushes it upward, and if it’s deflected upward, the wind pushes it downward.

This explanation, while intuitively appealing, fails to capture what is really happening. The majority of the lift generated by an unstalled airfoil is always concentrated near the front, and moving a trailing-edge flap up or down changes the flow conditions at the leading edge. An aileron deflected downward impedes air passing below the airfoil, and as a result, the dividing line between air passing below the airfoil and that passing above it moves aft. More air now passes over the top, the velocity of air rounding the leading edge increases, and the pressure there is correspondingly reduced. In other words, the lift change that results from deflecting the aileron is not confined to the aileron itself. It affects the entire area ahead of the aileron as well.

• READ MORE: Recalling a Good Pilot Friend and One Curious Character

The effect of the aileron, like that of wing warping, amounts to a change in angle of attack. This understanding helps clarify what is happening in a steady-state roll. Why does an airplane with deflected ailerons settle at a steady-roll rate rather than roll faster and faster? It’s because the rotation reduces the angle of attack of the up-going wing and increases that of the down-going one. The change, which is opposed to the change caused by aileron deflection, is not uniform. It is greatest at the tip, where the rotational velocity of the wing, relative to the forward velocity of the airplane, is greatest. When the change of angle of attack due to rotation, integrated across the entire wing, is equal in magnitude to that resulting from deflection of the ailerons, the airplane is in equilibrium about its roll axis and rate of roll stops increasing.

Rate of roll is one of the “wow” numbers associated with a high-performance airplane. When we read that a T-38 or an A-4 rolls 720 degrees per second, we are amazed and wonder how the pilot knows which way is up. Arguably, roll acceleration—how quickly you get from zero to, say, 90 degrees of bank—might be more important in air combat maneuvering.

Roll rate is not a single number, however, as it increases with speed. Preferring a criterion that is independent of speed, engineers often refer to “peebee-over-toovee”—a (more or less) constant value represented by the ratio “pb/2V,” where “p” is the rate of roll in radians per second (a radian is 57.3 degrees), “b” is the wingspan, and “V” is the true airspeed (in the same units as the wingspan). Thus, for example, an airplane with a roll rate of 70 degrees per second (deg/sec), a wingspan of 35 feet, and a forward speed of 300 feet per second has a pb/2V of 0.071 radian.

In physical terms, that means that if the airplane flew past you while rolling, the path of its wingtip, in profile, would be at an angle of 0.071 x 57.3, or about 4 degrees to the flight path. That is called the “helix angle,” because the rotating wingtips form a double helix, like DNA.

• READ MORE: Gliders Are Form of Flight That Resonates Above Others

The rolling helix angle is theoretically a constant for any given airplane, determined by wing planform, aileron design, and various other subtler factors. In principle it allows you to predict an airplane’s roll rate at any speed. Things don’t quite work out that way, however, because at high speed deflecting the ailerons makes the whole wing twist, counteracting the ailerons themselves, and cables stretch, preventing the ailerons from deflecting completely. Still, helix angle remains a convenient criterion, at the very least for setting a minimum acceptable standard for rolling performance.

A 1941 National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics report set that minimum value at 0.07 for transports and bombers and 0.09 for fighters. According to some published figures with which pilots who flew the airplanes are bound to disagree, the Spitfire Mk.V and FW-190 were fast-rolling airplanes, and the P-40 was not far behind. The FW-190 rolled 151 deg/sec at 226 knots, the Spitfire 150 at 176, and the P-40 134 at 315. The P-47 rolled a mere 71 deg/sec at 250 knots, the P-51B 98 at 260, the P-38 78 at 260. The corresponding pb/2V values are 0.118, 0.163, 0.082, 0.060, 0.072, and 0.084 respectively. The T-38 scores around 0.26.

Neither helix angle nor rolling acceleration fully expresses the quality of lateral control experienced by the pilot. That has more to do with effort, linearity of response, and presence or absence of “hysteresis,” or slop. Pilots used to single out the ailerons of Bellancas for praise, but pb/2V had nothing to do with it. It was really all about the ailerons’ smooth, frictionless, instantaneous response, low forces, and lack of free play.

The fact that pb/2V is theoretically constant for a given airplane has a couple of corollaries. One is that a larger span results in a lower roll rate. Another is that roll rate in degrees per second, taken alone, is misleading.

The Sopwith Camel, one of the deadliest fighters of World War I, rolled at a mere 40 degrees a second. But if you judged it by its pb/2V of 0.083, it was equal to the P-40 and superior to the P-47 and P-51.

This column first appeared in the March 2024/Issue 946 of FLYING’s print edition.

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FLYING spent the better part of a month reaching out to aviation museums across the country, following up on tips from our readers about replicas that they’ve worked on and where they ended up. These are a few places to see one of the many Flyer re-creations out there:

EAA Aviation Museum: Oshkosh, Wisconsin

You could say the Wright Flyer was the very first experimental aircraft, and as such it makes sense that the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has a replica built by members of the EAA and Blackhawk Technical Institute in Janesville, Wisconsin. The project took approximately 10 years to complete. The replica was installed in the museum on December 17, 1978, the 75th anniversary of the Wrights’ famous flight.

Wings of the North Museum: Eden Prairie, Minnesota

The Wings of the North Air Museum in Eden Prairie has a full-scale replica of the Wright Flyer built on commission by Flight Expo Inc., a volunteer nonprofit group in Princeton, Minnesota. The Wright Flyer is on loan to Wings of the North. The first aircraft shares space with another famous replica, one of Minnesota native Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, a highly modified Ryan M-2 monoplane.

• READ MORE: Where Is the Original Wright Flyer?

Museum of Science and Industry: Chicago

You will find a replica of the Flyer on the east balcony of the Transportation Gallery at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. The replica was built by the Glen Elly, Illinois-based Wright Redux Association to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wrights’ first successful powered flight. However, since the winters in Chicago tend to be snow-laden, the decision was made to attempt the flight in September 2003.

The Association told the Chicago Sun-Times the plan was to “attempt to fly it multiple times in the morning for a period of two hours or until they broke something.” The replica, named The Spirit of Glen Ellyn, never made it into the air because of a lack of wind.

The Dakota Territory Air Museum: Minot, North Dakota

The Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot boasts a replica Wright Flyer that was built on site like a ship in a bottle.

“Construction began in 2001, and it was completed in 2003 in time for the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight,” said museum director Jenna Grindberg. “There were quite a few people involved in the building of this replica, including several EAA chapters. Gordon Valgren was the project coordinator, [with help from] Warren Pietsch, Paul Sonnenberg, Don Larson, Jerald Burtman, Jesse McMurty, Mike Nass, Phil Hall, Gary Johnson, Keith Johnson, Al Botz, Dr. Bob Roswick, Judy Valgren, Jim Bergo and Ray Buel.”

Several businesses also donated time and supplies to support the project. 

“The Diamond Chain Company made the chains for many of the replicas that were being built, and that is where we got ours,” Grindberg said. “The wires were provided by American Welding. North Dakota State University built the fittings and brackets. Dakota Drug donated trucking by hauling parts back and forth between Minot and Fargo, and Roger Ward North American provided the moving van to take sections of the Flyer out to Minot AFB for an exhibit at Northern Neighbors Day Air Show in 2003.”

• READ MORE: Remembering the Centennial of Flight

March Field Air Museum: Riverside, California

The replica of the Flyer that is on display at March Field Air Museum was built between 1979 and 1993 using plans from the original aircraft published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1950. The craftsmen were members of the Los Angeles Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The replica was built for wind tunnel tests.

The replica traveled around the country as part of the buildup to the Wright brothers’ centennial in 2003 and was eventually installed in the museum in 2018.

Florida Air Museum: Lakeland, Florida

The Florida Air Museum has a 1903 Flyer replica hanging from the ceiling in the main building. The replica is a centerpiece in this well-appointed, eclectic collection. Stand beneath it and turn slowly in a circle and you can see the history of aviation from first flight to jets.

The post Finding Wright Replicas Around the Country appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to Dorothy Cochrane, the museum’s curator of the aeronautics department, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

“The challenge is that there are lots of Wright Flyer replicas at museums around the country,” Cochrane said. Also, the famous design doesn’t look 120 years old, due in part to meticulous care taken over the decades and a recovering of the wings in the mid-1980s when the museum did conservation work on the Flyer. This work consisted of disassembling it, inspecting and cleaning the parts, and documenting its construction and the materials used. 

• READ MORE: Reenacting the First Airplane Flight via Simulator

According to information provided by Cochrane, the fabric on the airplane at this time is not the same as it was when it flew in 1903, because in 1928, when Orville Wright loaned the Flyer to the London Science Museum, he recovered the aircraft entirely. It remained in England until 1948, when it was shipped back to the U.S. and the Smithsonian took it for display.

“When the aircraft was recovered in 1985, it was done the same way Orville had done it in 1903,” said Cochrane. “Our conservation and restoration people acquired new fabric from the same company that made the original fabric that Orville put on.”

The post Where Is the Original Wright Flyer? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In 1969 pieces of the Wright Flyer’s wood and fabric went to the moon. They were carried by astronaut Neil Armstrong aboard Apollo 11. The relics were flown to the surface in the lunar module Eagle, so when the Eagle landed, so did the Wrights.

• READ MORE: Celebrating 120 Years of Aviation

On January 28, 1986, a note penned by Orville Wright along with pieces of wood and fabric from the 1903 Flyer were aboard the space shuttle Challenger flight STS-51-L. Sadly, the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts.

On July 30, 2020, a piece of fabric from the Wright Flyer was carried into space as part of the Ingenuity, a remotely controlled helicopter that rode to Mars attached to the Perseverance rover. The spacecraft landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. At first, Ingenuity was slated for five flights on the Red Planet, but according to mars.nasa.gov, the solar-powered autonomous aircraft has completed 67 flights.

• READ MORE: NASA’s Ingenuity Completes First Flight on Mars

NASA officials noted the first aircraft to achieve powered controlled flight on another planet is a “Wright brothers moment.”

The post The Wright Flyer Makes It to Space—in Pieces appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

1903

On December 17, Wilbur and Orville Wright achieve powered flight. They make a total of four flights that day in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville is at the controls for the first flight that lasts 12 seconds and marks the beginning of powered, heavier-than-air flight.

The Wright Flyer is little more than a curiosity at this point. As the decade continues, the Wrights continue to tinker with the design. With the Wright Flyer II and Wright Flyer III, the brothers work to make the aircraft more practical, meaning controllable and stable.

This is achieved in the Wright Flyer III, which manages to fly for 24 minutes with Wilbur at the controls at Huffman Prairie outside of Dayton, Ohio. He is able to bring the aircraft back to the starting point safely and land without damage.

1913

Within 10 years of the Wrights’ achievement, the airplane is being utilized by many nations for military operations. The British Navy experiments with what will become known as aircraft carrier operation, and the United States Army makes the 1st Aero Squadron into its first official aviation squadron.

The airplane will be used in combat for the first time a few years later in World War I.

1923

It’s been 20 years since the Wrights first flew, and the airplane has evolved from a curiosity to a weapon of war as air combat was developed during WWI. With the cessation of hostilities, the airplanes are declared surplus and sold to civilians. Many are snapped up by barnstormers, pilots who fly across America landing in farmers’ fields and offering rides for a price. Around the world, air circuses with stunt pilots and aviation meets (think NASCAR with wings) are held at fairgrounds, giving many people their first real-world look at an airplane.

It is a decade of new designs and record-setting flights. In May 1927, a 25-year-old named Charlies Lindbergh becomes the first to successfully fly solo across the Atlantic. Lindbergh’s achievement spurs an interest in global aviation and air commerce, specifically airmail. He became a champion of aviation, and the growth in the industry was referred to as “the Lindbergh Boom.”

1933

In February, the U.S. Navy launches the USS Ranger (CV-4), the first ship designed specifically to be an aircraft carrier.

Record-setting flights become a thing as pilots feel the need for speed. Frank Hawks flies the Northrop Gamma Texaco Sky Chief from Los Angeles to Brooklyn, New York, in 13 hours, 26 minutes, and 15 seconds, setting a new west-to-east speed record. Hawks’ average speed on the trip is 181 mph.

In July, Wiley Post in a Lockheed Vega makes the first solo flight around the world, starting at Floyd Bennett Field in New York with stops in Berlin, Moscow, Irkutsk, Russia, and Alaska. Post’s journey covers a total distance of 15,586 miles.

On December 17, 1935, on the 32nd anniversary of the Wrights’ first powered flight, the Douglas DC-3 takes to the skies. This hearty, versatile bird is still used in both commercial operations and airshow demonstrations around the world.

• READ MORE: First Flights

1943

WWII arrives, and once again airplanes are weaponized. But instead of being made from fabric and spruce, they are made primarily from aluminum. Aviation technology grows by leaps and bounds in all areas, including aircraft construction and navigation in hopes of ending the war more quickly.

The Navy begins development of the helicopter as a platform for anti-submarine patrol, which was being done by blimps on the West Coast.

1953

On the 50th anniversary of the Wrights’ first flight, the first meeting of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) takes place in Milwaukee at Curtiss-Wright Field.

With the war over, commercial aviation grew. Aircraft formerly used to transport soldiers and war goods are repurposed to transport businessmen and vacationers.

The British introduce the de Havilland Comet as the world’s first jet airliner.

Aviation records are being set again. Aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran, who created the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in WWII, becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier, reaching over 760 mph in steep dives in a F-86 Sabre.

1963

President John F. Kennedy announces at the U.S. Air Force Academy that the government will team up with private industry to develop a commercially viable supersonic aircraft. The British and French are working on the Concorde, and the Soviet Union is working on the Tupolev Tu-144. Boeing begins its SST project in response.

1973

The Vietnam War begins to wind down as a cease-fire agreement is entered. The U.S. has had an aviation military presence in the region since 1962, using both fixed wings and helicopters.

In June, Bonnie Tiburzi becomes the first woman to earn her wings as a pilot, at American Airlines, though Emily Howell Warner was hired earlier, in January, by Frontier Airlines. Citing her as an example, little girls already bitten by the aviation bug start asking for the junior pilot wings instead of the junior stewardess wings during airline trips with the family.

1983

Just 80 years after the technical marvel at Kitty Hawk, America’s reusable space vehicle, the space shuttle Challenger glides to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Aboard it, astronaut Sally Ride returns after being the first American woman in space. The Challenger will be lost during launch in 1986, taking the lives of all seven astronauts, including Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the first teacher in space.

1993

The skies are getting more crowded, and there are some growing pains. In December an accident involving a chartered business jet upset by the wake turbulence from a Boeing 757 has both the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA taking a closer look at what is considered adequate distance between heavy aircraft and following light aircraft, hoping to eliminate more wake turbulence accidents. This evolves into more education for pilots on the dangers of wake turbulence and how to avoid it.

2003

Cirrus Design Corp. delivers the first glass cockpit aircraft to the training world in its SR20 and SR22 models. Within 10 years, glass panels will be the overwhelming choice of the larger flight schools in the U.S. In 2006 Cessna reports that most of the Cessna 172s it is building that year will have G1000s in them. Cirrus also has installed its Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) into both models, another safety milestone for new Part 23 aircraft.

Tragedy strikes in February when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrates on reentry after 16 days in space. All seven astronauts are killed.

On December 17, the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers means a jubilee celebration, and the aviation world is focused on Kill Devil Hills to watch the reenactment of the first flight by a reproduction aircraft built by The Wright Brothers Experience, founded by Ken Hyde. Unfortunately, the weather does not cooperate, and the famous flyer does not lift off as expected.

2013

In February, American Airlines and US Airways merge, creating the world’s largest airline, with 900 planes, 3,200 daily flights, and 95,000 employees.

Boeing makes the first of two test flights with its 787 Dreamliner, hoping to show the traveling public it has solved an earlier issue involving lithium-ion battery system overheating. The aircraft departs from the Boeing facility at Snohomish County Airport-Paine Field in the morning. Local flight schools with television watch the event, while general aviation pilots take to the sky, hoping for a glimpse of magnificent machines. The aircraft flies down the coast of Washington and halfway down the coast of Oregon before returning to base without incident.

The post Celebrating 120 Years of Aviation appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

This is a good time for pilots and others to reflect on the challenges the Wrights and other aviation pioneers faced during the early days of powered flight and how far flying has advanced since then.

• READ MORE: Eileen Collins To Be Awarded Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy

This is also the time of year when the First Flight Society inducts its latest honoree into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. This year’s honoree is General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., the first African-American general in the United States Air Force.

A West Point graduate, Davis, went on to command the famous Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He flew a number of aircraft during his long career including the P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt, and F-86 Sabre. He will be inducted into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine at Wright Brothers National Memorial on December 17.

The Society also is naming four new honorary members: record holder Zara Rutherford, military pilot Nicole Malachowski, aircraft collector Jerry Yagen and artist Gregory Kavalec.

Earlier this year 19-year-old Rutherford became the youngest woman to fly around the world and the first to circumnavigate the earth in an ultralight aircraft. The trip began in Kortrijk, Belgium, in August 2021, and ended there in January 2022.

Nicole Malachowski was the first woman selected as a member of  U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team. She went on to command the Commander of the 333rd Fighter Squadron, where she trained students to fly the F-15E fighter. She is a retired Air Force colonel.

Gerald “Jerry” Yagen founded the Military Aviation Museum in Pungo, Virginia, Centura College and the Aviation Institute of Maintenance schools. His museum is home to one of the world’s largest collections of vintage military aircraft that fly regularly.

The artist Gregory Kavalec created many of the paintings In the First Flight Society’s Paul E Garber Shrine. His latest work will be unveiled on December 17 at Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Previous honorary members include General Charles McGee, Colonel Gail Halvorsen, Patty Wagstaff, Rob Holland, and Sean D Tucker.

The post First Flight Society To Name Latest Honoree, Honorary Members appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

For many aviation enthusiasts, the new edition is not just another update of the company’s long-standing simulation program, but instead a celebration of virtual aviation’s past, present, and future. 

The Microsoft Flight Simulator software program was first launched in 1977 when Bruce Artwick, a software engineer who founded Sublogic, created and developed the first iteration of the program. Two years later, the company released Flight Simulator for the Apple II. In 1982, Microsoft purchased licensing rights to that original software and officially launched the first iteration of Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 that same year.

Since that time, Microsoft has released updated versions of the program periodically. In 2012, the company decided to shelve product development after it faced intense criticism from users after launching Microsoft Flight, designed to replace the original simulator series. Microsoft’s franchise remained grounded until the company partnered with Asobo, a French video game developer known for video game versions of Pixar movies. That collaboration led to the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

The long break between versions allowed the team to take advantage of substantial advancements in gaming technology. The result is flight simulation software that rivals (and even surpasses) scenery used in full-motion commercial flight simulators.

Marking 40 Years of Development

This latest release of Flight Simulator is chock full of features that appease new flight simmers—what those aficionados call themselves—and those loyal to the program since its beginnings. Every update comes with new virtual aircraft models to fly, but this time around, they’ve gone old school.

Seven historical aircraft are featured: the 1903 Wright Flyer, a 1915 Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, the 1927 Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, a 1935 Douglas DC-3, a 1937 Grumman G-21 Goose, a 1947 de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, and the famous 1947 Hughes H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose. Some of these (like the Jenny and Spirit of St. Louis) were featured in the 2004 release, while others are making their flight simulator debut with this latest version. 

Aside from the new aircraft, Microsoft’s scenery brought an entirely new dimension to flight simming, including simulating the topography of the entire Earth using data from Bing Maps. Microsoft Azure’s artificial intelligence (AI) generates three-dimensional representations of Earth’s features, using cloud computing to render and enhance visuals. Combining these visual tools sets this software far ahead of its previous iterations.

Sharpening Virtual Flying Skills

When Microsoft and Asobo released the 2020 version of Flight Simulator, it provided some much-needed engagement for real-world pilots grounded at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The software’s advanced scenery and aerodynamic modeling allowed many frustrated aviators to practice their flying skills. Whether or not the flight time is loggable is another discussion. Either way, they could practice pilotage, instrument scanning, and radio navigation.

While flight simulators are not helpful for ground operations, like parking or taxiing an airplane, some flight training academies encourage pilots to improve their skills through home-based flight simulators. An example is a Melbourne, Australia-based flight school that has developed online training modules and recommends supplemental practice via Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

While there is no way to replace real turbulence and its bumps, skips, and jolts—and landing in a tabletop simulator does not provide the same depth perception as real-world pattern work—there are benefits to using the program. Occasional sim time engages neurons that fire after practicing checklists, following a road via VFR [visual flight rules] navigation, or maybe shooting an instrument approach or two.  

Flight simmers can enjoy flying various aircraft, from jets to Jennys and sport aircraft to the Spruce Goose, they enjoy the immersive experience of flying virtual skies to destinations they may only dream of. 

The post Fly a DC-3, or ‘Spruce Goose’ in the New Microsoft Flight Simulator appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Fast-forward to April 1996, and another stealth-focused design was unveiled to the public with decidedly less fanfare. One look at the aircraft explained why. Rather than portraying a dark, ominous look, like the preceding two types, the Northrop Tacit Blue battlefield surveillance aircraft furrowed eyebrows and evoked more confusion than awe.

With a widely-spaced V-tail, a bulbous fuselage, and a large chine wrapping around the fuselage and giving it a boxy look from above or below, the Tacit Blue looked more bizarre than intimidating. Despite being engineered for low radar observability, this was not immediately apparent at first glance, and it lacked the matte black color of other stealth aircraft. Those working in the program gave it the nickname “Whale” and “Alien School Bus.”

The unconventional look of the Tacit Blue could be explained by the unique approach and constraints undertaken by the design engineers. They followed two requirements. The first was to create an efficient stealth reconnaissance aircraft that could loiter at low speeds near a battle zone while remaining undetected by the enemy. The second was to design the aircraft around a large side looking array radar (SLAR) with which the crew could provide real-time targeting data to a ground command center.

This was rather opposite from the existing convention. Historically, radar systems had been designed to accommodate an individual aircraft’s space and payload restrictions. But in the case of the Tacit Blue, they designed the aircraft around the radar.

This resulted in a unique airframe shape with odd proportions, and correspondingly unique solutions had to be found to make it flyable. The wing, for example, was just over 48 feet in span and utilized the 1930s-era Clark Y airfoil. An airfoil utilized by the Hawker Hurricane and the Spirit of St Louis, this was chosen in part for its efficient low-speed performance that provided good endurance. The aircraft was naturally unstable, however, so Northrop engineers designed a quadruple-redundant digital fly-by-wire flight control system to remedy this.

Two Garrett ATF3-6 turbofan engines—like those used in the Dassault Falcon 20—were selected to power the Tacit Blue. Unlike the Falcon, however, the engines were buried in the aft fuselage, necessitating the use of a single dorsal intake that fed both engines. This complicated certain operational aspects such as engine starting, but it also provided valuable internal space that could be used to cool the engine exhaust, reduce infrared emission, and help keep the aircraft from being detected by the enemy.

With all four flight control computers operating normally, pilots reported excellent flying and control characteristics. Predictably, these characteristics deteriorated as computers failed or were taken off line. Without any of the flight control computers operating, a Northrop vice president described the Tacit Blue as one of the most unstable aircraft ever flown. An engineer likened the stability with one operating computer to that of the notoriously unstable Wright Flyer.

Over a three-year period, test pilots logged approximately 250 hours in the Tacit Blue, validating both the stealth technology incorporated into the airframe as well as the massive SLAR contained inside. The resulting data aided in the development of several weapon systems, including one that evolved into the E-8 Joint STARS radar system. Additionally, multiple stealth characteristics were incorporated into the B-2 Spirit strategic bomber.

Only one Tacit Blue was built. Today, it remains on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

The post Northrop Tacit Blue: Ugly Duckling of Stealth Aircraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

How the Flyer came to hang in what is now the Science Museum for 20 years is a fascinating story all its own—it was placed there by Orville Wright in 1928 during his ongoing feud with the Smithsonian Institution in the U.S. The Flyer was only given to the Smithsonian in 1948 following Orville’s death.

Douglas had been invited to speak to the Royal Aeronautical Society in this honored way because of the growing fleet of Douglas DC-2s—the “bi-motored” air transport that would fulfill the promise of viable commercial passenger air service. 

He had more concepts for the future in mind, too, predicting the advances in autopilots and “radio beams” for navigation. Douglas even foresaw an unmanned aerial vehicle piloted remotely into London using those very beams during the city’s famous bouts with fog.

But he would solidify his company’s future with the incremental advances that came next.

First, the DC-1, then the DC-2

Douglas Aircraft Company (DAC) had already flown the first of the Douglas Commercial line, the DC-1, on June 22, 1933, at Clover Field, in Santa Monica, California—now the site of the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. Only one was built, though, because the company immediately went into production on an improved version, the DC-2.

The DC-2 featured a cabin stretched by three feet so that it could hold 14 passengers—and a co-pilot’s instrument panel, an updated landing gear system, and hydraulic brakes. DAC had manufactured 66 DC-2s by the time Douglas spoke to the August gathering in London in the summer of 1935.

• Read more from Julie Boatman

The DC-2 had set a transcontinental speed record in March 1935, in a west-to-east run that clocked only 12 hours and 44 minutes—a giant leap at the time, and a great competitive advantage for Transcontinental & Western Air, the predecessor to Trans World Airlines, or TWA.

United Airlines had partnered with Boeing on its 247, which first flew in February 1933. Even the DC-2 was a vast improvement to the Boeing air transport. For one, the wing spar didn’t require stepping over in the main cabin.

Douglas saw the challenge clearly.

Enter the DST

It took a phone call from American Airlines’ C.R. Smith to affirm he wasn’t mad to keep growing the popular DC-2. Douglas already had in mind the next step up in size for what he imagined was an evolutionary series of air transports to circle the globe.

That phone call in which Smith placed an order for Douglas Sleeper Transports (DSTs) was followed by a telegram on July 8, 1935, confirming the deal. He’d buy 10 of the 20 airplanes for $795,000.

That infusion helped leverage DAC’s further investment in the DC series, along with significant engineering development produced by the Northrop division of the company. The collaboration with American’s engineering team also supported the effort. 

By the time December rolled around, the DST was ready to fly.

A Routine Afternoon Flight

A cool, clear day dawned in Santa Monica on December 17, and the final configuration of the DST had been settled. This was the sleeper version—the day version would be known as the straight DC-3.

Though there had been a lot of fanfare for the first flight of the DC-1, there was little surrounding the initial aerial test of its progeny. Test pilot (and sales lead) Carl Cover settled into the left seat around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, joined by co-pilot Frank Collbohm. His logbook entry made it appear as though he’d just tested another DC-2 off the production line—in fact, the pair had performed a test flight that morning on a DC-2 that DAC had prepared for delivery.

There were few large leaps in the aircraft’s design between the models—a larger cabin to hold the 28 seats or 14 berths, and upgraded engines to the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasps or the Wright R-1820 Cyclones that were slung on NX14988, the registration on that first DST they flew that day.

After an hour and a half, the DST that would become American’s Flagship Texas touched down on the runway (since realigned to 21/03), completing a routine flight that would later mark the airplane’s place in history.

It just happened to be 32 years to the day after the Wrights first took flight.

Editor’s note: Information for the story drawn from “DC-3: An Aircraft for the Ages,” Together We Fly: Voices From the DC-3, and Honest Vision: The Donald Douglas Story, published by ASA.

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